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Topic: Algebra Homework (Read 4428 times)

I am in 9th grade purgatory once again. My 8th grader is in 9th grade math and bringing home loads of homework. He, of course, expects his mother and I to be fully versed in mathematics. It has been many moons since I divided fractions or sought to determine the square root of a number, and I find that I spend a fair amount of time each night becoming the math whiz I never was. Calculus darned near killed me in college as did physics. I forgot to mention the physical science I am boning up on by relearning change in velocity equations and applications. What fun. At least there is the internet to research things ahead of time, but this homework is killing me. The problem I find with math is that there is one answer and no real gray area. My line of work is all about gray area, and I simply have an aversion to being pinned down to a specific answer.

The thought has crossed my mind several times over the past weeks. What bothers me most is receiving the homework back with answers marked wrong and no information as to the right answer. Knowing that he got it wrong is little to help me in helping him get it right. If the teachers are going to assign homework, the least they can do is send home the lesson plan with the answers after the homework is graded. How difficult would that be? At least then I could put his wrong answer into context and let him know why he ws wrong. The fact that he was wrong is of no use at all.

I believe you should have a visit with the teacher, provided you have the time. You have a vested interest in your son's learning, certainly there would be nothing wrong with establishing a communication channel with the teacher. Get hold of the textbook if possible. Just my .02.

Couldn't agree more about the teacher conference to request the teacher mark the correct answer so you can help your kid.

By the way... homework is supposed to be homework for the student, not homework for the parents. If the student needs help understanding the concepts, that's one thing, but the homework problems are supposed to be their responsibility. At least that's how I see it.

PPS - Don't divide fractions, multiply them. Flip the denominator and numberator on the divisor fraction in a division problem, then multiply them instead of dividing them. For example: 1/3 divided by 1/2 is the same as 1/3 multiplied by 2/1, which is 2/3rds.

You can email the teachers or contact by phone. We have the family access where you can see every class, every day, attendance, if they bought lunch..what is assigned & turned in...library or textbooks lost, behavior & detention...wonderful tool :evil: If you have a chance, meet the people in the school personally then do the email thing. Your kids will have a better chance if everyone knows you care & are checking up on em..I think some teachers get discouraged by the lack of parenting in general..my Stepdaughter's Mother is such one..she believes it's the schools job to discipline once they got into kindergarten..has gone steadily downhill from there!I could go on for hours... :-X Jody

I am a 10 th grader that has geometry right now and am doubling uop this year and taking algebra 2 also. Most of the teachers at our school are there after class and befour class for a period of time to help kids well school is off. I A+ Algebra last year and it was not hard for me but if you read the textbook im sure that you could relearn it pretty well. But i wouldnt let your son just skim past this class because, it will come back to get him in the future. He has to know it, because last week i was helping my brother with his algebra and he is in high school. So once he learns the basics he should be fine. Even if you have to relearn it and reteach it back to him in a way that he can understand.

Agree with all. I own an extra copy of the textbook and have used it to familiarize myself again with the concepts I learned in high school and college. Just to clarify, we are not doing his homework, just checking it and then explaining the concepts behind the math. But to be able to check it and explain any deficiencies in understanding, I must thoroughly understand the subject myself. The answers, I have recently pried out of my son, are read out, but he simply wasn't writing them down. That was remedied today. Who knows, perhaps this will stimulate part of my brain I was not using enough.

Education was very important in my house growing up. Straight "A's" weere expected and demanded, no exceptions. If I got a 96 on a test, i had to spend 1/2 an hr explaining what happend to the four points I didn't get. My parents also would sit w/ all 3 boys and "go over" homework w/ us. Someitmes late into the night. At the time, i didn't enjoy it as much as i should have. My parents are older now and health is begining to slip, I I look back and am very grateful for their pushing my brothers and I. I was blessed w/ parents who were both book smart. My dad, an engineer could do claculous in his head, as could both brothers, but not me. I always struggled w/ math.However, i would tell you i use algebra probably every day. Algebra is finding the unknown. Such as gas mileage on car, or how much does a unit of apiguard cost per hive? or what to sell my honey so I dont go broke.. I guess I'm suggesting that you come up w/ real life "math" and it makes it eassier to do. Teachers often forget this little trick-apply it to real life

get a copy of the text book from local library and stay chapter ahead of your kids...They will be grateful you helped them years to come...

Logged

"The more complex the Mind, the Greater the need for the simplicity of Play".

He, of course, expects his mother and I to be fully versed in mathematics. My suggestion is that "He" should pay better attention in class!Homework is supposed to be for reinforcement of what was/is being taught in the class room.It sounds like he is enrolled in an accelerated math.I know some teachers, no names mentioned, that wash out the class to get their teacher: student ratio's where they want them. Sad, but very true.If you have a good teacher he or she will re-teach the lesson when they notice that the class is having a problem with math set.I read something many years about a students success in high school. Their grades are correlated to the education of their parents!Students are encouraged to have a study buddy.There are homework on-line sites that help students with math step by step.Perhaps this helps, somewhat. But, that is all for now.Regards,Ernie

Education was very important in my house growing up. Straight "A's" weere expected and demanded, no exceptions. If I got a 96 on a test, i had to spend 1/2 an hr explaining what happend to the four points I didn't get. My parents also would sit w/ all 3 boys and "go over" homework w/ us. Someitmes late into the night. At the time, i didn't enjoy it as much as i should have. My parents are older now and health is begining to slip, I I look back and am very grateful for their pushing my brothers and I. I was blessed w/ parents who were both book smart. My dad, an engineer could do claculous in his head, as could both brothers, but not me. I always struggled w/ math.However, i would tell you i use algebra probably every day. Algebra is finding the unknown. Such as gas mileage on car, or how much does a unit of apiguard cost per hive? or what to sell my honey so I dont go broke.. I guess I'm suggesting that you come up w/ real life "math" and it makes it eassier to do. Teachers often forget this little trick-apply it to real life

get a copy of the text book from local library and stay chapter ahead of your kids...They will be grateful you helped them years to come...

>I believe you should have a visit with the teacher, provided you have the time. You have a vested interest in your son's learning, certainly there would be nothing wrong with establishing a communication channel with the teacher.

Not necessarily true. Having teacher issues now!!! Had a conference. Well---no comment. I most probably be learning Algebra all over (the algebra that is the basis for alot of his math and other subject to follow).